"You'll have to watch me struggle from several rooms away. But tonight, I needed you to stay."
- "The run and go" by Twenty one pilots
David awoke to darkness. He was confused for a moment, as he usually rose with the sun, and couldn't figure why he had woken earlier. He lay in his bed, listening to his heartbeat for a minute as he wondered drowsily what had woke him.
A slight noise caught his attention. It was soft, coming through the wall in front of his bed. It sounded again, and as much as he hated that sound, he knew what had woken him.
A whimper came again through the wall, and David was a quarter second away from getting up to go to his adoptive son's room when he heard rustling and feet padding on the wood floor. A door opened, more padding, and his own bedroom door clicked open. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Max pushed the door softly shut. He was clutching Mr. Honeynuts to his chest, and his head was ducked, his nose buried in the bears soft head. He shuffled over to the edge of the bed and peeled back the edge of the comforter. David let him and spared him the embarrassment of knowing David was awake.
Max crawled into the bed, on the edge of the mattress, and as far away as possible from David. Said redhead had to bite his lip to keep his overjoyed smile at bay. Max shuffled uncomfortably and sniffled, only allowing the blanket to half cover him. He sniffled again and wiped at his nose, curling into a ball around his bear. He whimpered slightly and clamped a hand over his mouth, trying to keep himself from waking David.
David's heart broke as the watched Max cry, and decided it would be worth the embarrassment. He rolled onto his side, toward Max, and reached over to wrap a hand around the ten year old's back. He dragged him closer, right up against his chest, and Max surprisingly didn't struggle. He didn't even argue when David laid the kid's head on his arm, serving as a pillow and tucking the blanket around him firmly. David rested his chin on Max's head, sighing out a relaxed breath. Max cried quietly into his bear, David's arm tucked around him.
After several minutes, David stroked the back of Max's head and asked, "Are you okay?"
A tiny, imperceptible nod he almost missed even with his head laying literally on top of Max's.
Several minutes later Max's tears had stopped and David thought the boy had fallen asleep. He knew he was.
Then Max whispered, "I am now."
David felt warmth blossom in his chest at those simple words. He gave Max a tight, quick squeeze and whispered back as they both let sleep take them, "I'm glad."
